Stan Lee may well be the pop culture’s best-known 90-year-old celebrity, even if he likes to quip: “I tell people I’m only 89!”

Either way, Lee is no stranger to the international spotlight, as befits the co-creator of such iconic comic book heroes-turned-blockbuster-film-franchises as Spider-Man, Iron Man and X-Men. Nor is this perpetually active writer, editor, publisher and all-around media dynamo a stranger to San Diego’s Comic-Con, which he estimates he has attended annually for the past 17 years.

But when he appears Friday night, April 5, at Camp Pendleton, it will be in a guise that may surprise his many fans.

Welcome, too, the country-pop trio Gloriana, who he will introduce while hosting Friday’s all-ages show, which is open to the public as well as to military members and their families. Gloriana is perhaps best known for its hits "(Kissed You) Good Night" and "Wild at Heart."

Is Lee a country fan?

"My favorite music is show tunes, like 'My Fair Lady, 'Man of La Mancha' or 'Camelot'," he replied. "I love music that is inspiring and tells a story."

The national series is designed to bring live entertainment to military bases and installations across the United States. Lest anyone forget what this series’ namesake is best known for, all the concerts will be superhero-themed.

“I do a lot of traveling and I always bump into servicemen and women,” Lee said Wednesday, speaking from the Los Angeles headquarters of POW! Entertainment, the multimedia company he runs with veteran producer Gill Champion.

“The service people are so interested in what I’m doing and, mainly, in the Captain America and The Avengers’ stories. Gill and I know people in the music business, and said: ‘Why don’t we do something for the troops?’ The obvious thing seemed to be concerts. I’ll be there and sign whatever I can for them. It’s sort of the way Bob Hope did (with his USO shows), although this is nothing like that. But it make us feel good to do this and we’re going to introduce a new series of superheroes that are military-based, from all four branches, men and women.”

Tickets for military personnel for Friday's concert at Camp Pendleton are available at a discounted rate. The first 100 ticket-holders to arrive will get to do a meet-and-greet with Lee. In addition, each attendee will get an “exclusive Stan Lee Generalissimo comic strip program.”

A percentage of “topline revenue” from each POW! ER concert will benefit base Moral and Welfare programs and such charitable organizations as Wounded Warriors and the Semper Fi Fund. Gloriana performs at tonight's concert only; headliners, dates and venues for other concerts in the series are pending.

From comics to active duty

Born Stanley Martin Lieber in 1922, Lee was still a teenager when he began his career in 1939 at Timely Comics in New York. (The company gradually evolved into Marvel Comics, which for decades has been synonymous with Lee's name.)

He was still a teenager when he temporarily left the world of comics in 1942 to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II. Shortly before being sent to the front lines, he was abruptly reassigned from the Signal Corps battalion in which he had served.

“They grabbed me, and said: ‘You used to write comics, didn’t you?’,” he recalled. “I said: 'Yeah.' Then they said: ‘We need you to write instruction manuals and do instructional films for the troops.’ And that’s how I spent the rest of the war, in Astoria (based in Queens, N.Y.)”

Working alongside Lee in the same office were legendary film director Frank Capra and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and dramatist William Saroyan.

“I felt very inhibited,” Lee admitted. “But the funny thing is, I was the fastest writer of all of them. Because they were always having a drink and swapping stories.”

He chortled.

"Once, the major in our office came over to me and said: 'Hey, Sarge, will you write a little slower?' "

While station in Queens, Lee was also sent as need to different posts across the country.

"I was frustrated as hell," he said "Because I wanted to go to OCS (Officer Candidate School), and wear fancy uniforms and have all the girls chase me."

In 1945, Lee returned to comic books, a field he went on to profoundly change and expand. He created nearly 90 percent of the characters for Marvel Comics, for which he became the publisher in 1970. Today, he serves as a member of Marvel Comics' editorial board and as Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Enterprises, Inc.

He has also overseen the transformation of Spiderman, Iron Man and other Marvel characters from comic book superheroes to major studio movie franchises.

Not one to shy away from the big screen, Lee's contract stipulates that he appear in any film based on a Marvel character he created or co-created. As a result, he has appeared in 2000's "X-Men," 2002's "Spider-Man," 2003's "Daredevil" and "Hulk," 2004's "Spider-Man 2," 2005's "Fantastic Four," and, well, the list goes on.

"Fathers and grandfathers are now introducing another whole new generation of fans to Stan's work," said Champion, his longtime business partner. "It's amazing. Multiple generations of fans have grown up with Stan."

Autographs as tattoos

At Comic-Con, Lee noted, he is often approached by male fans who ask him to autograph their arms, the better to then have his signature made into a tattoo.

Asked if he was ever approached by women, and if those women asked him to sign more than their arms, he gleefully guffawed.

"I didn't want to go into that, since this (interview) is in a family newspaper," he said.

In 1970 Lee became the first comic book publisher to address the use of LSD, which provided a key "Spider-Man" story line. Last year, "X-Men's" Northstar -- one of the first openly gay characters in a major comic series -- married his partner, Kyle.

Their comic book matrimony led to swift condemnation from One Million Moms, an offshoot of the American Family Association (which was founded in 1970 as the National Federation for Decency).

Lee laughed when asked if there might be another gay marriage in store for any Marvel super heros.

"It's not impossible, although I don't have any plans for that," he said. "In fact, I don't have any plans for a straight marriage (by Marvel super heroes), because they are too busy fighting the straight guys."

Another laugh.

"I'm just getting started!"

That he is.

His pending concert series is just one of a number of new projects the seemingly tireless Lee has been working on.

Asked to describe a typical work day, he replied: “I get up in the morning and argue with my wife. Then I get to the office and argue with Gill.

"Actually, it’s fun. I come to the office and there are always a million things to do.”

Another laugh.

"Talking to you on the phone, it sounds like Gill and I get along well," Lee said.

"Once we hang up, we'll start yelling at each other. But you’re not going to know it!"